Persib announced there would not be a renewal of the player’s contract, which officially comes to an end after one-and-a-half seasons with the Club.

According to Club President Glenn Sugita, both Essien and his outfit met and agreed to end their relationship.

“We both appreciate the regulations that have been made by PT Indonesia New League; Essien also very well understands it. In essence, we parted goodbye,” said Glenn.

“The dedication, loyalty, cheerfulness and professionalism demonstrated by Essien have been very appreciated, hopefully the Persib players who have been with him, and the players at Go-Jek League 1 can take a lot of lessons from Essien’s existence all these years,” Glenn explained.

Essien joined Persib as a free agent after leaving Greek club Panathiniakos, who failed to comply with the deal signed with the player.

Essien contributed five goals last season for Persib in the Indonesian top-flight.

In May 2017, the head coach of Persib, Bandung Djadjang Nurdjaman, revealed that Essien was struggling to adapt to Indonesian football.